5 Seriality
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Daniel Stein
Abstract
At first sight, digital serial comics seem to challenge our understanding of serial comics based on analog materials. Yet upon closer inspection, many elements - such as the dialectics of order and chaos, or predetermination and arbitrariness, which accompanies the classic distinction between the series and the serial - have remained surprisingly consistent. This article develops the metaphor of the archive as a means of unraveling the serial specificities of comics (mainly superhero comic books and newspaper strips). Revisiting the series-vs.-serial distinction and differentiating among (dis)organized archives, excessive archives, and archival impulses allows for a conception of serial comics as crucial agents of cultural (re)production. These comics may tend toward the subversive and anarchic just as easily as they may favor a more pessimistic outlook: forms of escapism that cement the political status quo.
Abstract
At first sight, digital serial comics seem to challenge our understanding of serial comics based on analog materials. Yet upon closer inspection, many elements - such as the dialectics of order and chaos, or predetermination and arbitrariness, which accompanies the classic distinction between the series and the serial - have remained surprisingly consistent. This article develops the metaphor of the archive as a means of unraveling the serial specificities of comics (mainly superhero comic books and newspaper strips). Revisiting the series-vs.-serial distinction and differentiating among (dis)organized archives, excessive archives, and archival impulses allows for a conception of serial comics as crucial agents of cultural (re)production. These comics may tend toward the subversive and anarchic just as easily as they may favor a more pessimistic outlook: forms of escapism that cement the political status quo.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter i
- Editors’ Preface v
- Contents vii
- Comics Studies: Survey of the Field 1
-
Part I: Systematic Aspects
- 1 Comics Terminology and Definitions 11
- 2 History, Formats, Genres 35
- 3 Text-Image Relations 81
- 4 Comics Narratology 99
- 5 Seriality 121
- 6 Adaptation 141
-
Part II: Contexts and Themes
- 7 Politics 167
- 8 World-Building 181
- 9 Life Writing 201
- 10 Gender 219
- 11 Queerness 231
- 12 Science Comics 247
- 13 Postcolonial Perspectives 265
- 14 DocuComics in the Classroom 289
-
15 Superheroes
- 15.1 Historical Overview 311
- The Golden Age: Batman 317
- 15.3 The Silver Age: Nick Fury 331
- 15.4 The Dark Age: Superheroes in the 1980s 343
-
Part III: Close Readings
- 16 Richard F. Outcault: The Yellow Kid 361
- 17 George Herriman: Krazy Kat 379
- 18 Winsor McCay: Little Nemo in Slumberland 387
- 19 Dave Sim: Cerebus 405
- 20 Will Eisner: A Contract with God 431
- 21 Raymond Briggs: When the Wind Blows 451
- 22 Art Spiegelman: Maus 467
- 23 Robert Crumb 481
- 24 Alan Moore: From Hell 499
- 25 Neil Gaiman: The Sandman 513
- 26 Alison Bechdel: Dykes to Watch Out For 529
- 27 Chris Ware: Jimmy Corrigan – The Smartest Kid on Earth 545
- 28 Daniel Clowes: Ghost World 561
- 29 Martin Rowson: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman 573
- 30 Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis 589
- 31 Grant Morrison: Flex Mentallo 601
- Index of Subjects 619
- Index of Names 629
- List of Contributors 635
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter i
- Editors’ Preface v
- Contents vii
- Comics Studies: Survey of the Field 1
-
Part I: Systematic Aspects
- 1 Comics Terminology and Definitions 11
- 2 History, Formats, Genres 35
- 3 Text-Image Relations 81
- 4 Comics Narratology 99
- 5 Seriality 121
- 6 Adaptation 141
-
Part II: Contexts and Themes
- 7 Politics 167
- 8 World-Building 181
- 9 Life Writing 201
- 10 Gender 219
- 11 Queerness 231
- 12 Science Comics 247
- 13 Postcolonial Perspectives 265
- 14 DocuComics in the Classroom 289
-
15 Superheroes
- 15.1 Historical Overview 311
- The Golden Age: Batman 317
- 15.3 The Silver Age: Nick Fury 331
- 15.4 The Dark Age: Superheroes in the 1980s 343
-
Part III: Close Readings
- 16 Richard F. Outcault: The Yellow Kid 361
- 17 George Herriman: Krazy Kat 379
- 18 Winsor McCay: Little Nemo in Slumberland 387
- 19 Dave Sim: Cerebus 405
- 20 Will Eisner: A Contract with God 431
- 21 Raymond Briggs: When the Wind Blows 451
- 22 Art Spiegelman: Maus 467
- 23 Robert Crumb 481
- 24 Alan Moore: From Hell 499
- 25 Neil Gaiman: The Sandman 513
- 26 Alison Bechdel: Dykes to Watch Out For 529
- 27 Chris Ware: Jimmy Corrigan – The Smartest Kid on Earth 545
- 28 Daniel Clowes: Ghost World 561
- 29 Martin Rowson: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman 573
- 30 Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis 589
- 31 Grant Morrison: Flex Mentallo 601
- Index of Subjects 619
- Index of Names 629
- List of Contributors 635